Schmidt-Curley Design's Liaoning Gold Time Club Ready to Play

Schmidt-Curley Design has announced that its Liaoning Gold Time Club in Yingkou, China has completed the grow-in phase and is ready for play.

Situated on Bohai Bay in northeastern China, the par-72, 7,119-yard course showcases a mix of rugged bunkering and dunes punctuated by fescue and other cool-season grasses. Liaoning's one of the first courses in China to feature the natural, less-manicured look that's enjoyed a return to prominence in the West over the last decade.

"Until recently, most golf course owners in China have preferred highly-manicured designs with hard-line edges," says Brian Curley. "Liaoning breaks from this mold. It exemplifies the continuing evolution of the Chinese golf market, and our firm's devotion to promoting differing styles and 'outside-the-box' concepts to further popularize the sport."

Curley and senior design associate Patrick Burton fashioned dunes, sandy lows and many waste and blow-out bunkers from the sand-based property, transforming it into tumbling terrain emphasizing the ground game. Wispy fescue grasses frame the bentgrass fairways and greens. While visually intimidating, the fescue is actually rather easy to play from, making the course enjoyable for novice and skilled golfers alike.

The layout's finishing stretch is particularly memorable and highlighted by panoramic sea views. The 16th is a long, heavily-bunkered par-4 playing to an elevated green. Hole 17 is a short par-3 with a wickedly-contoured green. No. 18 is another lengthy par-4. Weaving through seaside sand dunes, waste and formal bunkers, it crescendos with an uphill approach to an undulating putting surface.

A consistently high finisher in Asian Golf Monthly's "Best Golf Course Architect" rankings, Schmidt-Curley has two fully-staffed Asian offices (Haikou and Kunming, China) in addition to its Scottsdale, Ariz., headquarters. This promotes quicker mobilization, lower travel costs and other valuable advantages over competitors.